Tonight sees the return of Latitude 53′s “Rooftop Patio Series,” which will be every Thursday until August 12. That’s a lot of Thursdays and a lot of patio. It’s also a fundraiser for them.

It’s almost the weekend so why not dip into some cocktails, grab a few snacks, and take in the art installations.

And Thursdays at Latitude 53 will have different guest-hosts. So you’ll meet people connected to their National Portrait Gallery, CJSR, Weird Canada, the Global Visions Film Festival, M.A.D.E. in Edmonton and more.

July 21-August 14 will also see art shows kick-off on the roof, from Scott Smallwood, Marc Siegner, Gerry Dotto and Elaine Wannechko.

So, it’s Thursday, it’s after 5pm, I hope you’re reading this from your phone on the rooftop patio of Latitude 53.

Artist Rudy Smith during Art Walk, back in July.

Here’s an easter egg for all you superfans; if you’ve been with us from the beginning, you may remember that Jeff and I went to Art Walk back in July. Among the people we met was tremendously talented Sherwood Park artist Rudy Smith, whose work you can currently see featured in the flash player at the top of our main page (…and we’re going to blame our not having a proper picture of Rudy on his work – it’s just so dang compelling we couldn’t look away).

Only 21 years old and largely self-taught, Rudy’s work is vibrant and clever, features a multitude of hilarious pop culture references in its titles (“I suck at making up my own,” he says) and stars awesome and unexpected subjects like robots in love, cowboys, and teddy bears destroying cities with their laser eyes (I know, right?!).

“Anything and everything can influence my work,” says Rudy. “Music, movies, books, quotes, conversations, nature, relationships, other people’s art, etc. …Painting landscapes or bowls of fruit never appealed to me. I always wanted my art to be fun and action-packed, the kind of stuff I was excited to read in comics or see on Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid.”

“I suppose I’ve tried to capture some of that childhood excitement and awe in my paintings, or at least create some kind of escapism from the seriousness in life we often encounter as “grown-ups”.”

While Rudy doesn’t have any shows on the immediate horizon (“I’ve been taking a bit of a break from creating new original work and focusing more on getting some commissions out of the way,” he says), he is in the midst of cleaning house – so if you’re in the market for something hang on your walls, you may want to peruse his facebook fan page or his website. You can also head on over to Strange City Body Modification Experience on Whyte, where he currently has a few pieces hanging.

As for what’s still to come for Rudy, he says he’s interested in possibly heading back to school in the next few years, and would like to try out lots of new projects.

“I would love to try painting with oils,” he says. “I’ve been working with acrylics exclusively since I started painting, probably because that’s just what was in front of me at the time….

“I’d love to write and illustrate a children’s book someday soon! Maybe even a graphic novel too! Better get to work on that…”

Okay, so, if you went to the Art Walk this year, you probably came across Ted Flower. He was the quiet, affable guy next to the CIBC who was displaying (among other things) a pair of giant panel cityscapes of Edmonton and Calgary, done entirely in ballpoint pen. I was totally taken with his artwork, which, from a distance, looks like it must’ve been generated by a computer; but when you get up close, you see that it is, in fact, an incredibly detailed, hand drawn depiction of both cities.

Ted is a tremendously interesting guy. He turned 50 just this week, and has had a few different careers; he ran a chainsaw for a long time, until he got hurt too badly to continue; he moved to Edmonton in 1989 and took up demolition and asbestos abatement. In the early to mid 2000s he was involved in a couple of different business opportunities; and he has just recently decided to chuck it all and pursue art on a full-time basis – a pretty bold step for a guy with no formal training. He says he would love to see his version of Edmonton’s skyline hanging in City Hall.

Anyway, I made arrangements to stop by Ted’s studio, in the basement of his North Edmonton home, and watch him at work. Holy crap, Edmonton. Not only can the man draw; he’s also completing a giant replica of a bridge out of TOOTHPICKS. Hundreds of thousands of them. The pieces he’s finished to date take up large parts of his house, and he hopes when completed, it will set a world record. When I ask him why he’s building the bridge, which he figures should be done by the time he’s 60, he says, “Because I need a challenge.” WHAT?! That’s so badass!

Check out the story above, and if you dig Ted’s work, or even if you just want to shake his hand, he’s going to have his cityscapes on display at the upcoming East meets West Festival, on Saturday, August 22.